As a result of a deal reached in negotiations to break the impasse over raising the nation’s debt ceiling in August, the so-called congressional super committee was formed, composed of six Democrats and six Republicans, half from the House and half from the Senate. The committee is charged with making cuts or increasing revenue to reduce the nation's deficit by at least .2 trillion over the next 10 years. The panel must reach a bipartisan agreement, then pass their recommendation onto Congress by Nov. 23. If the panel cannot reach a deal, that failure would trigger automatic cuts in domestic and defense spending in the 2013 federal budget.